By Mark Schonbeck, VABF Policy Liason
Hard Times – and We’re Fighting Back!
I imagine that many of you are feeling the impacts of the massive disruption of federal programs and services, especially those of you who have signed contracts or received grants from the USDA to carry out research, education, conservation practices, organic certification, and the vital service of feeding your communities. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) continues to develop strategies and help its 150+ member organizations and individual farmers and others to engage with Members of Congress and other decision makers to un-freeze critical USDA programs. It will be a heavy lift, but with all of us pulling together and joining a rising national wave of protest, perhaps we can turn this disaster around.
On February 12, during the semiannual NSAC meetings, 130 farmers and advocates swarmed Capitol Hill wading through the melting snow to talk with Senators, Representatives, or Congressional staff about the severe impacts of this illegal executive action on producers and rural communities, and to urge Congress to stand up and say NO! Brent and I were among them, and the main thing we heard from both Senator Mark Warner’s aide and those of two Republican Congressman (Morgan Griffith and Ben Cline) was: tell us what is happening on the ground to people in our district / state as a result of these executive orders.
Another event that took place during our meeting was confirmation of Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture. Her first job, of course, is to get the ball rolling again on all the vital agricultural programs that have been interrupted.
On February 21, the USDA, now under its new Secretary, released a “first tranche” of conservation funding. However, this amounted to only about 1% of the conservation funds that have been frozen, leaving most farmers who are participating in conservation programs still in limbo as to whether and when they might receive reimbursement for the money they have invested in equipment, plants, seeds, and other materials to carry out conservation practices.
On February 25, in response to VABF’s recent action alerts, Joseph Guthrie, Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) provided this update:
“On Monday February 24, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services received notification from the USDA that sub-recipient grant claims can only currently be honored for documented expenses incurred prior to January 19, 2025. Sub-recipient grant claims with expenses incurred after January 19, 2025, may experience late payments or limited reimbursements, pending additional guidance and determination by USDA. VDACS staff is in regular contact with USDA fiscal personnel and will provide future updates once additional guidance is received from the USDA.”
Special thanks to all of you who responded to our recent emergency request for stories on how the federal funding freeze has impacted your lives and farming operations. I was so sorry to hear how this has already cost some of you many thousands of dollars, and I am tremendously grateful to you for sharing your stories, including the inspiring work you were doing and that we all hope you will be able to resume and continue in the very near future.
Brent and I put together a memo with 14 cogent testimonials from you all and an urgent plea to our two Senators and Representatives Morgan Griffith (R-9th) and Ben Cline (R-6th, serves on Agricultural Appropriations committee) to do all they can to reverse the illegal, unconstitutional, and unprecedented executive actions that has interrupted USDA funding and thereby hurt our farmers, our communities, and our land.
And guess what – we are not done. Not by a long shot! We will continue to gather data, stories, testimonials, and other ground-truthing of the impacts of the freezing of funds and suspension of contracts on us all. And we will continue to send your stories to Virginia’s congressional delegation and demand that they take charge of the nation’s purse strings and reinstate the programs that have helped you make a living as you care for your land and your communities.
So – keep them coming!!
And – call or email your Representative, tell them your story and why the funds must be unfrozen and the programs resumed for the sake of your farm, your community, and those who hunger; and for the land, soil, water, and living natural systems on which all our lives and wellbeing depend. Use these phone and email templates to prepare and deliver your message.
It is a time to stay connected and help each other out in whatever way we can. It is a time to share ideas, concerns, needs, and resources as we move into uncharted waters. Let us know whether and how we can help.
We love and appreciate you all!
Brent Wills [email protected]
Mark Schonbeck [email protected]
American Farmland Trust Biochar Survey
Survey closes March 8, 2025
If you are a farmer applying or interested in applying biochar, please take our national biochar survey, led by American Farmland Trust’s Climate and Soil Health Initiative alongside the Social Science Research team. You have the opportunity to enter a drawing to win a $100 gift card as a thank you for your participation. The survey will take around 15 minutes to complete.
If you are an ag service or biochar provider, please share this survey broadly with your network to get it into the hands of farmers who use or are interested in biochar. We greatly appreciate any help in widely disseminating this national survey!
The goal of this survey is to better understand who is applying biochar and why and where. We aim to identify the factors influencing farmers’ success and persistence with applying biochar on their farms and examine the possible barriers. The survey results will provide a blueprint for supporting greater successful adoption of sustainable, fit-for-purpose biochar use among farmers.
This survey is funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) On-Farm Trials Conservation Innovation Grants national program (NR233A750011G029) and was designed in collaboration with AFT’s biochar partners. For questions or inquiries, contact Ellen Yeatman, social science analyst, at [email protected].
Thank you for helping us reach as many farmers as possible to complete this first-of-its-kind national biochar survey!
Sincerely,
Bianca Moebius-Clune, Ph.D.
Climate and Soil Health Director, National Programs
American Farmland Trust
Perennial Opportunity
James River Buffer Program
Designs and installs riparian forest buffer at no cost to you
If your farm is located within the James River watershed and you would like to plant a forested buffer to protect water quality, provide wildlife habitat, and improve farm biodiversity, check out the James River Buffer Program. The James River Association, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation are working with farmers and landowners across the middle and upper James River watershed to restore or create forest buffers that improve the quality of local waterways. The program works with you to select tree species, plants the buffer, and provides maintenance for the first three years at no cost to you. Plantings can include income generating species such as sugar maple for syrup production.
Perennial plantings will play a vital role in addressing the climate crisis by enhancing resilience, sequestering carbon, and intercepting nutrients.
